CZ 550 vs Winchester model 70 (416 Rigby)

Was wondering what the opinion was out the between these two rifle in the same caliber ( i am going 416 rigby).
Please if you have any views let us all know.

Shot Shot

Well I like whe winchester. But Safari got the CZ on Spesial now for R16 something. Don't think you will ever get a deal like that again.

Jono, if i remember correctly, winchester only do a 416 in remington.

I prefer the winchester stocks, but after getting used to my cz 416 rigby, i'm happy with it.
I also prefer the straight stock to the other option.

I own 2 cz 550's, one in 375 h&h and the other in 458 Lott. The cz's are very well built and shoot very well. Some may take a little tweaking to get them where you want them but cz's customer service is very good. My only gripe is the express sights they put on them are pretty rudimentary but serviceable. Are you planning on scoping the rifle? If so then the express sights will be fine for the rare occasion the scope is off the rifle, just my 2 cents. I also prefer the straight stocks as well. My cz in 375 has the Bavarian style hump while the 458 has the straight stock. I've gotten used to the Bavarian style but prefer the straight comb

Winch 70 Safari Express .416RM !!
I own a CZ 550 Synt. stock cal 9.3x62 Mauser and a Winch 70 SE cal .416RM. with Leupold VX 3 1.5-5 x20. So I known CZ and Winch.
The accuracy, trigger (MOA) ,smooth action, weight, and the slope slightly inverted of the Winch'stock are a "plus".
I like my CZ, I keep it !! This is a tool .. but the Winch is My Rifle.
About 416RM and 416 Rigby or 416Ruger ... they do the same job in the same place on the same DG.
Nb : 416Rigby are ... not cheap ... hum ..!

as said, Winchester doesnt make a 416 Rigby. so if you really want the Rigby then CZ is your choice, but if you would take a 416 RM then the Win M70 is a fine choice. the Winchester has a better safety and a smoother action which are both major improvements over the CZ.

i personally prefer the 416 RM over the 416 Rigby because brass and factory ammunition are cheaper and in a pinch you can make 416 RM brass from 375 H&H brass.

-matt

My vote will always lean towards the Winchester but am a bit biased.
Virtually identical ballistics between the two so no gain/loss in either. Will come down to what you wanna spend, availability and how she feels in your hands.

CZ can handle a beating in the bush, reliable.

my gripe with CZ is ive had to send every CZ ive ever owned back to the factory for work and ive owned 6 of them. they usually work fine after going back, but some like my 375 H&H still arent 100% relible with certain bullets (RN and flat nose).

-matt

matt85 said:

my gripe with CZ is ive had to send every CZ ive ever owned back to the factory for work and ive owned 6 of them. they usually work fine after going back, but some like my 375 H&H still arent 100% relible with certain bullets (RN and flat nose).

-matt

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This - I've had one and my cousin two. All have gone back to CZ for work. All three were repaired and now perform flawlesslt, including my cousin's Rigby.

I wouldn't buy a CZ without expecting to send it back. If that bothers you (and I don't blame you if it does) I wouldn't suggest you buy a CZ. If you are OK with the hassle then they are a fine rifle in the end.

Royal27, do you think that it could be different batches of rifles? The Kruger park and a lot of other parks issue staff with CZ 375 H&H because they robust and can handle a beating.

as said, CZ rifles are tough but will require a little work to run properly.

-matt

TMS said:

Royal27, do you think that it could be different batches of rifles? The Kruger park and a lot of other parks issue staff with CZ 375 H&H because they robust and can handle a beating.

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I think the CZ is as tough as they come and LOVE mine. They just often require a little work out of the box to get them running right, in my experience.

I have only owned one CZ but it would not feed and would jam. I sent it Back and they made it right. Their warranty anD CS is really good. However, why do they keep allowing rifles to leave their factory that don't work? They obviously have a quality control problem. You would think they would fix this as a lot of hunters really like their CZ's.

PHSC_Jono,

I own several CZ Model 550 rifles, calibers 6.5x55 through 500 Jeffery.
The rather expensive .500 Jeffery would neither feed Kynoch live factory ammunition from the magazine, nor would it chamber same if you massage one from the stubborn magazine, unless you really leaned on the bolt handle with enough force that it made me nervous.

So, not trusting the goobers who sent it out the door without function testing it first, I paid through the bloody nose to have a local Gunsmith repair it.
Now it feeds like a hog and I am happy with it.
All of my other CZs (the way less expensive versions) have worked very well with no function issues.

The Model 70 Winchester is a fine rifle, if you stay away from the push-feed ones made in those dark years of the mid-1960's through whenever they returned to the original / full length extractor type action of today.
When I worked in a gun shop, I saw a couple of them that would not feed with these new, short magnums because of the rather square shoulders on the cartridges.

It seems to me that either rifle will serve you well, even if either rifle required some hand filing to make it work correctly.

I slightly prefer the CZ, at least for larger calibers, mostly because the action is proper size for said larger cartridges, also CZ's tend to be better than very accurate and I like the deeper / larger capacity magazine.

Regards,
Velo Dog.

Wow thank you everybody i love these forum conversations the real truth really does seem to find its way out.
i have held them all and i must say the Winch' just feels better in my hands
It looks robust enough to roll with us in the bush in all conditions the action seems much smoother than the CZ and i like the straight stock.

I am happy with the cal 416 Rem mag it will handle everything we through at it.


Shot Shot

Great choice Jono! I have not had an issue with any of my M70's but have only fired about 15/16 of the ones I own.

Honestly speaking with the quality of the current crop of CZ rifles I would skip over them in anything beyond 375 H&H, unless you wish to spend a crazy amount of money on getting them to work!! The CZ 550 Mag is a strong action eventhough it is a casting ( i think the mold is getting old, showing signs of rough edges inside the action). I imported a CZ in 458 Lott from CZ USA, they could not supply the straight stock in Europe?? Nice looking rifle, fitted me fine, but it was a factory gun so the barrel had to be chopped down a bit, too long for a Lott. The mayor issue with all the Lott CZ Magnums is their utter failure to feed reliably. The issue has been around since CZ started chambering anything larger than 375 in the action. The ammo being fed off the left rail will always jam into the right recoil lug pocket, two things cause this. One is that the left rail is still specked for a 375 H&H cartridge, two is that some idiot at CZ is not paying attention to the feed ramp! It has a slight hump dead centre that creates two distinct feeding tracks instead of one straight down the middel. I spent maybe 80 rounds testing and retesting it after the Gsmith worked on it. The extractor was over tensioned and would shave pieces off the cartridge rim, had a nice brass collection in the bottom of my mag after a while. The set trigger is not for me on a DGR, too sensitive. I first thought I may just have got a lemon until I checked 3 others, they were all the same. If you want some video on testing it pop me a pm. One other thing that I found a bit concerning is that the bolt handle lies to close to the stock, I had mine bent out, twice durring rapid fire sessions I knocked the safety on durring the forward stroke of the bolt, it stopped when the bolt was bent out. I may be the wrong guy to give advice, I am extremely hard on a working rifle

hunthardsafaris said:

I may be the wrong guy to give advice, I am extremely hard on a working rifle

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That's EXACTLY whom I want to hear from.

Royal27 said:

That's EXACTLY whom I want to hear from.

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Me too.